Conducting an Ecosystem Assessment to Facilitate Blue Carbon Evaluation in Tunisia
The World Bank’s MENA BLUE Program, in collaboration with the GDA Marine Environment and Blue Economy consortium, used EO products on phytoplankton, salt marshes, and seagrass to to support the assessment of marine ecosystem services in Tunisia. This initiative aims to create a sustainable roadmap for Tunisia’s blue economy.
Description
The GDA Marine Environment and Blue Economy consortium, together with the World Bank, is using Earth Observation (EO) derived products in order to support the assessment of marine ecosystem services in Tunisia. This activity is in support of the World Bank’s MENA BLUE Program, which aims to enhance the sustainability of the blue economy in the Middle East and North Africa. The EO services implemented in support of this programme are being used to evaluate the extent of phytoplankton, salt marshes, and seagrass over varying timeframes, and also in certain instances quantity of carbon sequestration. These EO products were then integrated in a wider econometric analysis funded by the World Bank (WB) to assess the value of blue carbon in Tunisia.
Since blue carbon has been historically understudied in the region, this work will help the client countries of the WB to better understand opportunities related to this sector. In Tunisia, the results and recommendations were reflected in the blue economy roadmap that was prepared by the national government with the support of World Bank. This roadmap will guide future interventions and investments in this sector for the next decade.
You can read more about this Case Study here: EO-based ecosystem assessment to support Blue Carbon evaluation in Tunisia